Runaways
by halfbloodglader
Summary: What would happen if Leo met Luke,Thalia and Annabeth when he ran away the first time? And what happens when he meets Annabeth again, all those years later at the Grand Canyon? Please R&R! I don't own anything.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a story about if Leo had met Annabeth, Luke and Thalia when he ran away the first time. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't actually have been on the run together, the ages don't exactly match up and they were probably in a different place anyway, but for story purposes, I'm just going to ignore that. So Leo's going to be 8, Annabeth 10, Thalia 12 and Luke 14. That way in TLH Leo will be 15 and Annabeth 17 which I think works okay for this. Please review, I don't mind constructive criticism but no flames, please. Thank you! (Oh, btw apologies if the line breaks don't work)**

Leo had been on the run for three days now. After his Aunt Rosa had refused to have such a _diablo_ child stay with her, he hadn't taken any chances. There was no _way _he was going to a foster home. Who would want to take in a child who had murdered his own mother, anyway?

He had slept under a house the first two nights, but he had been spotted by an old woman who lived next door. She had chased him with her broom and reported him to the police. After that he had slept in the sewers, which happened to be where he was now.

Leo's stomach grumbled. All he had eaten in the three days besides the water he had gotten from fountains was a stale bit of bread he had found in the rubbish. He got up, shaking the rank water from his dirty clothes and peered into the darkness. He was almost tempted to use his fire, but he had sworn to never use it again after what had happened. He crept forwards, his bare feet squishing into the floor of the sewer.

Suddenly he heard voices ahead. He gasped and pressed himself to the sides of the sewage tunnel, hoping to go unnoticed. He couldn't think of who else would be down here, besides the police who were trying to catch him. The voices continued; they seemed to belong to children by the sound of it. He let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Unfortunately, the children heard it.

"_Who's there?"_ A boy's voice rung out, echoing in the bleak tunnel. Leo could make out three kids, the boy who had spoken, and two girls, both older than he was.

"Luke, what if it's another monster? " The smallest girl spoke. Leo decided to step out from the shadows. _Wait, monsters?_

"It-it's just me. Leo Valdez. I'm hiding from the police, I… I ran away." Leo's voice shook slightly, the boy was a lot bigger than his eight year old self.

The older girl looked at him in curiosity, "So did we. I'm Thalia, and this is Annabeth." She pointed to the other girl, who looked about ten. "And this is Luke." The girl had shortish black hair, and looked twelve. Leo reckoned she could probably beat him up with no troubles at all.

The boy, Luke smiled at Leo. "You look a little young to be out on your own, Leo. Why don't you tag along with us for a while?" Leo grinned. He supposed he could use some friends.

A couple of hours later, the four kids were out of the sewer and in a clearing in a bunch of trees, eating some food Luke had stolen from a supermarket. Leo was laughing along with the rest of them like he had known them forever. His laughing stopped when Thalia asked him a question.

"So, what caused you to run away? You know about _our_ reasons, of course but I don't think I've heard anything about you yet." She looked at him expectantly.

Leo was quiet. He looked into the eyes of the other three, all filled with understanding. He guessed if he had to tell somebody about his fire, it might as well be them.

"This is gonna sound a bit out there so I don't mind if you don't believe me." He said, looking at his feet.

Luke chuckled. "Believe me, we've had our own fair share of 'out there'" The girls nodded in agreement.

"Um, okay. But you might not wanna be around me much after I tell you." Leo warned them, before continuing. "So long story short, I've got a …thing, with fire. I don't know why, but it's never hurt me, not once. And I can control it." Leo held his palm out, allowing flames to dance across his skin. The other three watched in amazement. "A month or so ago, I was in my mama's workshop- I never knew my dad- and there was this woman, she was like, made out of dirt. And she was sleeping. She said some stuff, and… I lost control." Leo trembled and held in his tears. "I- I killed my mother. The workshop burnt down, and she didn't get out in time. I survived it, the flames didn't burn me, but she-"Leo broke off.

Annabeth shuffled closer to him and put her arm around his shoulder. "It's okay Leo, you don't have to tell us the rest if you don't want to."

Leo sniffed. "No, you guys should know. The police took me, said it wasn't my fault and gave me to my Aunt Rosa. She called me a _diablo_, a monster. So I ran away. The police nearly got me once, but I escaped. And here I am."

Annabeth hugged him tighter. "Leo, I don't think you're a monster. And you're not the only one with weird powers, too. Thalia's got a thing for lightning. Luke steals stuff, like really well. And me…well I don't have powers but I am pretty smart, I guess."

Thalia and Luke nodded in agreement. "So, you're one of us now?" Thalia asked.

Leo thought for a moment, then grinned. "I reckon I am".

**A/N: That's it for now, I'll update soon. Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello again! Thanks for the lovely reviews for the last chapter, this is chapter two. I'm not sure how long this whole story is going to be, maybe like 3 for them on the run, one for Leo getting separated from them and at least one of him meeting Annabeth again. Please read and review!**

"This is where we've been sleeping for the last two nights. Of course we'll have to move again soon, but for now, you can sleep there," Luke pointed to the makeshift camp; an area hidden under a drooping tree, with softer patches filled with leaves and moss for the children and teenagers to sleep on.

Leo grinned. This was a lot better than the places he had been sleeping, and it seemed pretty hard for the police and the foster people to find. But, it could still use improvements, and Leo had seen a rubbish dump not far from the bushy area they were in.

"Hey, Luke, can I go grab some scrap metal and wood from the dump to improve this place?" He said, nudging the older boy.

Luke thought for a quick moment. "Sure but get Thalia to go with you. Maybe you could pick up a weapon for yourself there too."

Thalia grinned, and she and Leo walked the short distance to the dump, being careful not to be seen.

"I'll keep watch while you grab some stuff, 'kay?" Thalia stood not too far away from Leo and grabbed her knife from her pocket, her electric blue eyes alert and watchful.

Leo darted around the pile of scrap metal, grabbing anything he could use. Wires, sheets of metal, coils, wood and random items piled high in his arms. When he was done, he showed Thalia what he had found, and they headed back to their little camp. Leo dumped everything on the ground and got to work. Within an hour, he had crafted a small shelter, with stable walls and roof, along with places to sleep.

Annabeth watched him carefully, giving different ideas for where to place things, and how to make it look better. Leo was having the best time he'd had since his mother's death. He poked his head out the small opening, and looked around for Luke and Thalia.

"Looks great, Leo!" Annabeth congratulated him. "I wish I could build stuff like you can."

Leo laughed. "You helped too, silly! I would've forgotten to put half the shelter in if you hadn't reminded me. Now, where's Luke and Thalia?"

"Luke went to go steal some food. I think Thalia was with him" Annabeth replied, glancing around. "Here they are now."

The two kids crawled into the clearing, holding bread, water, chips and other random food items. How Luke managed to take all of it without being seen, Leo would never know. Thalia's eyes widened at the shelter, and Luke looked surprised.

"So _this _is what you two have been up to when we've been gone! Should leave you by yourselves with a pile of rubbish more often.' Luke chuckled.

"Oh, this was all Leo. I just helped a bit." Annabeth said, looking at Leo. He went to disagree, but her quick glare soon shut him up.

Thalia spread out a picnic mat (they had stolen that, too apparently) and put the food down on it. The four children ate quickly, it was more food than they'd seen in a while, especially for Leo. When they were done, they crawled into the shelter Leo had made and Annabeth, Thalia and Luke fell asleep.

Leo tried his best, but he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. He crawled out of the shelter and looked around for the cause of the feeling. A bush rustled behind him and Leo caught a glimpse of red, glowing eyes.

He barely managed to let out a scream before a huge black dog like creature pounced on him, its' sharp teeth snapping at the small boy's throat. Leo reached for a sharp scrap of metal lying at his side, and tried to stab the monster that was trying to kill him. However, the metal seemed to pass clean through the creature without leaving any mark at all. Leo franticly tried to shake the monster off himself, but it was too strong and he was still pinned.

He was almost giving up hope when Thalia burst out of the shelter, Luke and Annabeth following close behind her. Thalia jumped onto the back of the dog like monster, stabbing down with her knife. The creature burst into golden dust and the pressure on Leo was gone.

He gasped, "What- what was that thing?" Leo's chest was bruised and sore, and he was shaking slightly.

Luke looked grim. "Some kind of, I don't know, monster. We've been attacked a couple times before we found you but we don't have any idea why."

"They don't even attack anybody else, just us. I think it's got something to do with our…abilities." Annabeth piped up, her stormy grey eyes thoughtful.

Leo cursed. He _knew_ his fire would hurt somebody else! This was why he was better off on his own. He was just attracting danger for his friends by staying with them, what if another monster attacks because of him and one of them dies?

"Alright, we better go back to sleep now, but somebody needs to keep watch. Anyone want to?" Luke called out.

"I will, I'm not going to get much sleep anyway," Leo volunteered. This was a perfect opportunity to leave them. It was for their own good anyway.

Once the others had crawled back into the shelter, Leo looked around for danger and crept softly into the bushes. He didn't know where he was going, but that was okay; as long as he wasn't putting his friends in danger. He knew enough about the guilt of causing a person's death, anyway.

There was no way he was going to kill somebody else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello **** Thanks for all of the reviews! This chapter is from Annabeth's POV, hope you like it.**

When Leo said he would take watch, Annabeth was pretty happy. She was tired, and wanted nothing but to sleep for months. Unfortunately, she would have to wake up in a few hours to relieve the watch from Leo.

She lay down, but as she tried to fall asleep she had an unnerving feeling that _something_ was wrong. Poking her head out of the shelter, she called out Leo's name softly.

No reply.

She crawled outside, and scanned the area for the small boy. He was nowhere to be seen. Confused, she searched the ground for signs of a struggle, but found only Leo sized footprints etched in the dirt, as if he had walked off willingly. They were fresh, Annabeth was sure of that.

Without bothering to wake the others, she followed the prints about 50 metres. There, she could see the faint outline of Leo Valdez in the shadows, walking away from their little camp. She rushed up to him.

"Leo! What are you doing?" She asked, confused and worried. Leo turned around in fright.

"What-who- oh, Annabeth. I thought you were another monster! Don't scare me like that!" He scolded her. Then he turned and kept walking. 

"Where are you _going?" _ Annabeth grabbed Leo by the shoulders and faced him, her grey eyes staring into his brown ones.

"What does it look like? I have to leave you guys, geez Annabeth I thought you were the smart one."

Annabeth was confused. "Why on earth are you leaving? Leo, we're your friends."

Leo shook his head. "I'm putting you lot in danger, by attracting monsters. You would be safer without me. Like I said, I thought you were smart, Annabeth."

Annabeth frowned. "We attract those monsters well enough without you. I doubt you even make much of a difference. Even so, who cares? We can fight them off."

"I just don't want to hurt anyone else, that's all." Leo muttered.

Annabeth's gaze softened. "Oh, Leo. Is that was this was about? You should have said so! You're not going to hurt us! You would hurt us more by leaving, anyway."

Leo looked surprised. "You really think so?"

"Of course I do! And I'm sure that Luke and Thalia do too. So, are you coming back or not?" Annabeth questioned.

Leo grinned. "I suppose you couldn't do without somebody to build stuff and set it on fire, could you?" He laughed, black curls falling into his eyes. "But, you mind not telling Thalia and Luke?"

Annabeth smiled. "Sure. Quick, let's get back before they realise we're missing."

The two hurried back through the tangle of undergrowth and into the clearing. Leo crawled onto his pile of soft stuff that he was going to sleep on, and Annabeth sat outside to keep watch. He was asleep in seconds.

When everyone woke up the next day, Luke called Leo over.

"How would you like to come steal something with me today? We're out of food and water and I'd like to see if you're any good."

Leo grinned. "Is that even a question? 'Course I would!"

Luke told the girls where they were going, and the two boys set off for the nearby small town that was not too far from their little shelter. When they reached the centre of the town, just outside a small supermarket, Luke told Leo to follow him inside.

"You be the distraction, okay?" Then the blonde older boy darted to the shelves, scouting around to see what they would need. Leo meanwhile went up to the lady at the counter.

Stuck for what to say, he grabbed a box of chocolates from near the counter and held them up.

"How much are these?" He asked, trying his best to look innocent.

The woman frowned. "Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar." Her gaze swept over the small boy. Then, her eyes widened. "You look like the boy from the missing poster, the one who ran away from his lovely Aunt! Leo Veld- something."

Leo quickly shook his head. "No way! My mum is just at home, I live near here. My names- err- Jake. Jake Smith."

"That's funny, I don't think I've seen you around here before." The dark haired woman looked at him in accusation.

Leo's heart thudded. "That's cos, um, I'm new here. We just moved last week."

"Okay then sweetie. Tell your mother welcome from me then, and the chocolates are 3.95."

"Okay, bye!" He shoved the chocolates somewhere and ran outside to where Luke happened to be waiting, his jumped stuffed with food and other things.

"Let's go now! I think that lady recognized me from a missing poster."

Luke agreed, and they jogged back to where the girls were waiting. Setting the food out, they ate some of it but saved a lot from later. Leo wiped his mouth and burped.

"Sorry."

Thalia laughed. "We don't really worry about manners much out here, s'okay."

Leo grinned. He really was glad he had stayed with the three other run-aways. Hiding out by himself had been horrible, and now, coming to think about it, he wasn't quite sure how he had actually brought himself to go back to it. Although, he would rather that than going back to Aunt Rosa and the foster people. _That_ had been worse than being by himself, he thought.

Aunt Rosa was possibly the person he hated most in the world at the moment. She had called him a _diablo,_ a monster, for killing his mother, and Leo had gone through daily verbal abuse until he had left.

There was no _way _he was going back to that, not in a million years. He had finally found friends and he planned to keep them.

**Woops, switched back to Leo's POV in there without realising it until I'd written it. Oh well. Oh, does anyone know how to do line breaks? I'm using Microsoft Word. Please review, it would take two seconds. I appreciate constructive criticism. What am I doing well? What can I improve on? Please tell me in that little box right there! Thankyou!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! I hope everyone is having a nice holidays **** Sorry this chapter took a while, I'm lazy and I had a story idea in my head that I wrote first. Woops. Warning: There is a big SCARY SWEAR-WORD in this. Just one. But idk, some people are particular about them so I thought I'd warn you.**

Leo stood facing their shelter that had been home to the kids for about a week and a half now. The sun shone gently off the metal make-shift roof that he had constructed, making it look quite lovely. He would be sad to leave it, but Luke had decided that it was time to move on and find a new safe house before somebody found them here.

"You ready to go?" Thalia's voice startled him out of his thoughts. He jumped, and turned around.

"Yup! But the real question is, are _you_ ready?" He joked, slinging his stolen backpack over his shoulder and nudging the black haired girl in the ribs gently. She shot him a look, her piercing blue eyes seeming to stare into Leo's very mind. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes?" He grinned, and ducking his head under a low hanging willow branch he ran off to find the other two companions. It didn't take long, and he soon found Luke and Annabeth sitting under a different willow tree, their bags packed and ready. Thalia soon joined them, and they started walking towards their next shelter place.

The day was hot, and Leo was sweating almost as soon as they started walking. By midday, he was thirsty and tired. They had covered quite a bit of ground, and they planned to continue until night fall. He and Annabeth had shorter legs, and they were struggling to stay with Thalia and especially Luke, having to run every once in a while to catch up to the bigger kids. Unfortunately, Luke had decided that it was too risky to stop somewhere until they had found a proper place.

**/**

Half-way into the afternoon, Leo decided he needed to pee. He had been holding off asking for a pit stop, since Luke, Annabeth and Thalia had all done their business half an hour ago in some public toilets, Leo announcing that he "definitely wouldn't need to go for a _very long time. _"

He had been verging on busting less than fifteen minutes afterwards. Go figure.

"Uh, guys? I kinda really need to pee "He said, waiting for the classic, _but why didn't you go before?_

Annabeth stopped, glaring at Leo. "Leo Valdez. Please tell me you're joking. We literally _just went._ Hurry up."

He darted off the track into some random person's backyard, quickly peeing onto some roses. He thanked goodness that nobody was there. As he went to leave, he noticed a screwdriver lying next to what appeared to be a broken fountain.

Leo grinned. "Yes!" He snatched it up and walked out of the garden. Right as he was climbing over the bushy green hedges that lined the garden, there was an angry shout from behind him.

"Hey, you! Get back here! What are you doing on my hedges?!"

Leo swore; and looked behind him. An older man, overweight with a dirt stained white singlet over a large belly, was waddling (quite fast mind you) towards him, and waving a gardening tool in the air. The man's eyes widened in recognition, and Leo froze for a second.

"I know who you are! You're that boy, Leo something, the one that everyone's looking for! That one who ran away cos he killed his mum!" The man yelled.

Leo jumped over the rest of the hedge as the man shouted at him ('I'm calling the police'), and sprinted back to where his friends were waiting on the track.

"What was that noise?" Thalia asked him, not having been close enough to hear clearly.

"A man saw me climbing over his hedges, and he's calling the police to come find me. We have to go, now."

"Aw, fuck!" Luke swore loudly. "They'll be here soon, we have to hide." 

Leo looked around them; they were on a rough trail, surrounded by trees on one side and houses on the other. The trees were close together, and the gaps were filled with prickly undergrowth. It would be hard for the police to find them if they hid well.

**/**

Annabeth was thinking the same thing. "Quick, everyone hide in the undergrowth. We can cover ourselves in leaves and dirt, and they probably won't find us.

She darted into the trees, and walked about 50 metres in, before having an idea.

"Let's climb into the trees! People never seem to look up."

Luke and Thalia started climbing the same tree, Annabeth and Leo choosing two separate trees right next to theirs. Annabeth was grateful for the strong, low branches, making the tree easy to climb up. She was well perched in a high branch in under ten minutes.

It was a good lookout, and she could easily see the man's backyard from it. It wasn't long before she saw the police cars driving onto the path they had been using, and two women and a man jumping out. The man pointed to the trees, gesturing for him and one of the women to search there. The other female police officer headed to talk to the man.

Annabeth was frozen in place, barely daring to breathe as the police officers got closer and closer. Soon, the rustling of undergrowth and voices was almost directly underneath her. She could see Luke and Thalia perched in their tree, their faces pale and bodies still. She looked over to Leo, who looked positively terrified. The branch he was on was a lot higher than Annabeth's and it looked thin and weak. As she watched, it bent further and further down, until with a loud snap, Leo was dangling by one hand from the branch above that he had been holding.

The brown haired policewoman looked up, and spotted him almost immediately. Annabeth was unable to do anything, lest she give herself away, as he climbed down slowly and the officers took him by the shoulders back out of the forest. Leo was looking around wildly for a way to escape, but there was nowhere he could go.

Annabeth wanted to jump out of the tree herself and try to rescue him, but she knew it was pointless. The police would just take her too, and Luke and Thalia. They knew that she was with them from a close call a couple months ago.

Leo glanced up at her, and she could see in his frightened face that he didn't want her to follow him.

**/**

Leo was walked out of the forest, and put in the police car to take to the people in charge of putting kids in foster homes. He was silent as the police reassured him that everything was going to be okay, silent as they handed him over to a nice lady who spoke to him as if he was four years old. He was silent as he realised that he would probably never see his closest friends that he had ever had again.


End file.
